Broken Strings A Yugioh Fic Chapter 1
by GuatamalenWatermelon
Summary: As if two teenage girls in Domino dont have enough to handle with love triangles and school reports, the last thing they need is a dead pharoah, a jealous freind, and a clann full of angry tomb keepers. YamixTeaxOC and OdionxOC
1. Broken Strings a Yugioh fic Chapter 1

_This is the first chapter of a collaberation fic between two crazy anime fans :P It's a little slow starting and explanitory, I know, but more first chapters are. It'll pick up soon, I promise :P_

**CHAPTER 1**

It was sunny outside as the wail of the bell signalled lunch break in Domino high, much to Roe Ellis' relief.  
For the 40 minutes she had been stuck behind Joey Wheeler and his incessant whining about food, and she was on the edge of telling him to-in the nicest way possible- eat a sandwich and shut his face.

Nice guy, but _oh my god,_ could he _talk_.

She packed up quickly, hiding the poster of Edward Cullen that she had been 'improving' inside her Science book with one of her freinds all class.  
The vampire's face now supported a giant handlebar mustache, a monocle and a top hat- all added with black permanent marker.  
Needless to say she thought it looked much better than the sulky original.

''Where you off to?'' Her one of her freinds called as they reached the locker area, avoiding the groups of guys standing around and bragging about their card game prowess.  
Roe threw her stuff into her locker and pulled on her jacket- the horrible pink... THING that Domino girls were expected to wear.

''Off to see Yumi for lunch!'' She replied brightly, jamming on her knitted hat over her short hair and ducking under the flailing arm of a duelling enthusiast bragging about a tournament he had won.

''If it has a d_*_ck or a duel disk, its going to piss you off.'' Eris, her best freind grinned, zipping her schoolbag up and giving the guy a withering glance.  
''Cool, tell her I said hi!''

Roe snorted in laughter, and waved, escaping out of the social area for her year and heading off outside.

She had just stopped at the traffic lights to rummage in her bag for earphones when she saw Yugi Moutou- or the pharoah, as Yumi had told her, Roe still was'nt really clear on how a dead guy could be sharing a body with Yugi but that was irrelevant- on the other side of the street in Domino uniform, talking to that really annoying girl from home ec, the one who wanted to be a dancer and always talked about trust.

Her name was.. Tracy? Tea? Whatever. The week before, Eris and Roe had counted up the times Tea/Tracey/ whatever her name was used the words 'freindship' in the one day.  
And in Roe's opinion, when someone uses the word 'freind' 24 times per day everyday, they need professional help.

She waved back to the other girls enthusiastic flail and waited til they were gone to cross the road. As much as Yugi was a really nice guy, she thought his spilt persona- or whatever it actually was- was a bit of an ass sometimes. Not that she said so around Yumi.  
The pharoah had an odd habit of being a bit bipolar, as if he did'nt quite know how to handle girlfriends and how they liked to be treated.  
Still, it upset her to see her freind being so confused about a guy she really liked.

Five minutes later she was inside a large modern Starbucks cafe full of artistic types drinking coffee and admiring the art in a local shopping centre ''DominoCourt'' near the school, waiting for her freind.

* * *

On the othe side of town, Yumi too gathered her things to leave for the long anticipated lunch break. Unlike her friend Roe, she went to a private girl school because her parents thought it was a better environment for studies. Not that Yumi agreed with them, but she never put up a fight as she was quite happy in that place. Besides, her dark blue jacket and skirt beat Domino High's outfit any day.

In order to get to her friend in time she had to run all the way through town so once she got there she lumped onto the chair across from her friend completely exhausted.  
"I made it.", she said with a smile and instantly ordered some orange juice and a sandwich to regain her strength.  
"I have awesome news!", she told her friend excitedly. "You know this new little cafe that opened down the road from the shopping centre? I officially have a part time job there! And the cutest thing is the uniform I'll get to wear! Even though you will probably make some nasty comments about it." She giggled a bit as she already imagined the various things that Roe would say about the uniform that looked more like a gothic lolita maid than anything else.  
"You should totally come around, cause all the cakes will be 25% off the day of the opening!"

Roe grinned '' I'll definitly be there for the opening, I'll persuade as many people to come as possible so you have a full house too and more tips!'' She suggested enthusiastically.  
''But I might not invite Duke Devlin- you know how he is about girls in waitress' outfits.'' She remarked with a fond eye-roll.  
''That might not go down well if Yugi's other half is there...''  
She looked at her freind sympathetically.

Yumi laughed at her friend's words, agreeing that Duke probably wasnt the best person to invite to such an opening. Especially since she knew that the other two girls working there had boyfriends as well.  
When the waiter finally bought their drinks, Yumi downed the entire content almost in one go, letting out a relieved sigh as if the juice had just saved her life. "Anyways, how are things going in your public school?", she asked curiously. "Still annoyed at Wheeler for talking about food like every day?" She did want to ask about the Pharaoh as well, but she didnt do so right from the start. Things were still a little strange between the two of them.

They had met for the first time a few weeks ago when Yumi had been hanging out with Roe and from then on one thing had led to another. When he told her about his past, Yumi had been a bit freaked out at first, but had eventually assured him that she actually found it exciting and that she hoped he would find his lost memories soon.

In a way, Yumi wasnt sure whether they were properly going out or just good friends. At one moment the spirit could be charming, while the next day he would be cold and distant as if they didnt even know each other.

Roe grinned. Joey Wheelers conduct over food was infamous.  
''Its crazy, the boy's so likable but the moment he mentions food we all get hungry, so he ends up being hated by the end of class.'' She grinned, taking a gulp of her hot chocolate and settling back, looking in envy at her freinds uniform as she always did.  
She loved the other schools get-up, but her parents could'nt afford it, those private schools were way too expensive.

She brushed her short high-lighted fringe out of her face and smiled at Yumi.  
''Speaking of, you're dying to ask about Yugi Moutou's evil twin.'' She said with a grin, covering her other feelings.


	2. Broken Strings A Yugioh fic Chapter 2

_The saga begins/ continues...or.. whatever._

**Chapter 2**

When Yami was mentioned however, Yumi's smile faded and she put her glass down.  
"Yes, I was actually dying to ask. I havent seen him in a while and when I called his phone was off.", she explained, now shoving her glass from one hand to the other on the table. "It's not that I want to be a nosey girlfriend, but I do want to know what he is up to at least from time to time.", she explained herself.

Roe munched her own sandwich dully with a shrug.  
''Actually, I've seen him around.. he was out today at lunch.''  
She toyed with the idea or telling her freind about Tea, but didn't want to have her think he was cheating too. Yumi didn't deserve that kind of crap to worry about.

''Maybe you should talk to him and tell him to get his act together or **GTFO**.'' She advised honestly. ''Yugi's a lovely guy, Yumi, but the other guy's being really weird lately. I mean, he was dead for 5000 years, right? Thats bound to leave you a_ little _socially inept, maybe he just doesn't know how to treat girlfreinds.''

Or maybe he's just a total ass, she added in her head

"He was out for lunch?", Yumi asked surprised. She knew that he usually stayed as Yugi whenever at school and that he always stayed around Joey and the others. So hearing that he went out was a bit of a shock. She didint say anything else about it however, not wanting to think about it at all. Knowing herself, she'd just start to imagine the worst.

For a moment their talk was interrupted when the waiter brought Yumi the food she had ordered and she started to slowly dig in, being picky about it as always.  
"But let's talk about other things. How are things going for you? You have been rather unmotivated about school and all that lately."  
She had always regretted that Roe didnt come to the same school as her, though the fees would pretty much put anyone off.

''School? Ahh you know, the usual.'' She brightened up a little. ''Remember that big history phase I went through a few years ago? Inca's, Romans, Egyptians.. I get to use it now! We have to do a 1500 word research topic on a topic of my choice!''  
Her beam faded and she flopped back, adjusting her hat.  
''I cant choose what, though! I thought either the life-cycle of a Gladiator in the Roman era, or maybe a topic on the grave robbers in egypt. I really cant decide!''

"Oh, you should totally do it about the tomb robbers!", she said enthusiastically instead. "I mean, you've already done that presentation about Gladiators in middle school. That will be your chance to do something new. And...", she paused for a moment to get something out of her bag. It turned out to be a small book about all the events going on in Domino for the next few months.

She flicked through the booklet for a minute until she found what she was looking for. "Tada!! Look what's coming to town?! A new ancient egypt exhibit! Im sure it will be useful for you."  
She knew how much Roe liked that stuff, so Yumi always kept an eye out for them while looking for some musical events for herself. "Maybe you'll get in for free if you say its for research. And maybe you should even try to get the owner of the exhibit for an interview!"  
Although Yumi was not as interested in history as her friend, she liked to help out in any way and the whole thing had just inspired her, making her speak as if the project was hers as well.

Roe's eyes widened as she leafed through the book. It looked amazing.  
There was a section on the famous tomb robbers and everything.  
''This is perfect! I love you!'' She exclaimed, giving her freind a hug across the table before excitedly reading more.

''Heyyyy, I will use the 'research' line actually, good idea.'' She added, pausing on a small information passage, sandwich halfway to her mouth.  
''Hmm.. tomb keepers.'' She poked a spot on the page, swallowing a mouthful of sandwich.  
''It doesn't mention anything else about them, other than that they gaurded the tomb of the pharoah from the robbers. What a boring job, huh? I think I'd kill myself out of boredom.''

Yumi didnt instantly agree with her friend, but mused about it for a moment. "Maybe it's not so boring after all.", she finally said slowly. "I mean, think about it. They probably have access to all the hidden tombs and artefacts and whatnot. And they must know more than most egyptologists due to some legends or whatnot.", she reasoned before munching on her sandwich again. "Sure, not as exciting as tomb robbers, but honestly, how many of those will you find these days? Nobody would admit such a crime."

In the end she was just thinking reasonably without being much interested in any of it. Her passion lay in music and playing the piano. History was something she considered interesting, but tedious.  
"I say we go and visit it together and see what we can find there." She offered to help Roe mostly because she was her friend, but she also had an ulterior motive. And that was linked to the Pharaoh, who was still looking for his lost memories. Perhaps she could help him a little by looking for clues at the exhibit.

''Yeah but tomb keepers probably died out years ago- there havn't been tombs to keep in centuries, I'm hardly going to get an interview.'' Roe replied, stroking an imaginary beard.

''Lets go tomorrow, yeah? My saturdays- as always- are free so we can mosey around for a bit.''  
She checked her watch and stood up with a scowl.  
''Alas, Home ec with all its fun awaits. I'm making profittaroles, I'll keep you some if they don't burn!'' She gave her freind a big hug.  
''Congrats on the job, by the way- I'll be there.'' She promised, before paying for her food and fleeing back to school, thinking about the next day, and Yami's werid behaviour.

Yumi stayed on a little longer, cause her break was an hour longer than Roe's, but eventually he too made her way back to school. In the evening she send a text to Yami, asking whether he'd like to join her and Roe for the exhibit tomorrow. Deep down she hoped that he would agree, but the beeping of her phone and the text message ruined all her hopes. Apparently he had to help out in the card shop that day, but he asked her to keep an eye out for anything that might be connected to the puzzle and his past.


	3. Broken Strings A Yugioh Fic Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next day in the exhibit, Marik was begging Ishizu to let him go at least for a few hours. The exhibit would work perfectly well without him and he really wanted to go and find Joey and the others for a duel or something.  
"I think Master Marik should be allowed to go. I will handle any questions that might be posed about the artefacts.", Odion spoke up, as always trying his very best to make things as easy for Marik as possible. And although nobody said it out loud, he was also a lot better at talking about all the pieces of the exhibit as he had taken the time to study the past far more carefully than the young tomb keeper.

* * *

When Yumi waited for Roe at the entrance of the Domino museum that day, she didn't look too happy. The first thing which showed her rather dull mood was the fact that she was dressed all in black and grey and the second was of course that sad look on her face. Once she saw Roe running up the stairs though she smiled.  
"Ready for your epic research day then?", she asked.

Roe was the polar opposite, dressed in bright coloured shirt, frilly denim skirt and boots and fingerless wooly gloves. As usuall her beanie was in place.  
''Whats up?'' She asked immeadiatly, noticing the bland clothes and absence of Yumi's normal happy appearance.  
''Just a bad day or did someone piss you off?'' She added sharply, eyeing her freind in worry. It was a pretty easy guess to make.  
''Come on, tickets are on me. We'll talk once we're away from people who might kill us for badmouthing the king of games.''  
She lead her freind into the foyer and paid for two tickets, talking in a low voice and making sure Yumi was all right.

"I dont feel like talking about it.", Yumi said as they entered. It wasnt anything too bad after all. Anyone could be busy from time to time after all. It wasnt anything she could hold against him, yet it still made her sad somehow.

Roe and Yumi were just inside the main exhibit when a young blonde egyptian man who's lilac tank top would'nt have looked out of place in a gay bar hurtled past out the doors with a big grin on his face.

''Okay... I'm off to mosey around tomb-robbery stuff.'' Roe announced excitedly, trying not to look at everything at once.  
''You coming with or do you want to mosey off and look at other stuff?''  
It was obvious from her worried yet teasing look, she knew excactly that the other stuff might be connected to the pharoah.

"I guess you found your guide for today.", Yumi pointed out instead, nodding towards Odion who was waving Marik off. While Ishizu had moved to another part of the museum, the other tomb keeper approached the two girls, having to look down on them because of his height.  
"Can I help you in any way?", he asked politely. Although a tall man with tattoos all over his face would have seemed creepy, Yumi didnt feel threatened at all. Some people just seemed to have a kind aura around them.

"Im just here to take a look around. But my friend here would most likely appreciate some help, right Roe?", she asked. "I will be off looking for the other stuff." She didnt need to specify it as she could see that her friend already knew what it was all about.  
Once Yumi was gone Odion looked down at Roe again. "Did you come to look for anything specific?"

Roe just tried not to state at the man after waving Yumi off. What at first she thought had been bad acne marks on one side of his face turned out to be tatoo's of tiny intricate hyroglyphs, and from a look she could tell it was scars, not ink.  
After a few seconds she realised she had been gawking like a moron at his face.

''Eh..yeah, hi.'' She finally stammered with a cover-up grin, trying to find her words.  
Not only was the man's stature infinatly impressive enough to make her stutter like a complete fool, there was something infinatly curious about him.

''I'm here to research a topic for my history project, and I was thinking of doing it on Grave Robbers. The exhibit mentioned some stuff about them, but I can't read hyroglyphs so..''  
She gestured at the exhibits with a little laugh, trying not to make a blabbering twit out of herself around the tall tattooed man with the oddly gentle eyes.  
''..I was hoping the guides would know more about them?''

***

Meanwhile Yumi was walking down the corridors, stopping to look at some things from time to time, but nothing really seemed to catch her eye. After about twenty minutes she turned around a corner and stopped dead in her tracks all of a sudden. In the next room there was Yami - there was no doubt about that - and with him was a girl with short brown hair and rather revealing clothes.

The girl seemed to be ranting on about something while pointing at an old scroll or something, which made Yami smile. As the couple started moving to the next object, Yumi quickly hid around the corner, pressing herself against the wall, trying to calm her racing heart.  
She couldnt understand what had happened or at least didnt want to. He had told her that he was busy, yet here he was with that classmate of his, whos name Yumi couldnt remember.  
She could still hear the echo of their voices as they talked about some object or another and she simply couldnt take it anymore. Yumi tore herself away from the wall and started walking back where she came from. She needed to find Roe and just forget about what she had seen. There must have been a logical explanation for this. There had to be.

The pharoah meanwhile, was completly unaware of his observer as he paced the long halls of the museum, Tea chattering excitedly at his side.  
''Can you read this?'' She asked in surprise as he leaned closer to squint at a worn exhibit, weathered from years buried in the desert.  
''Yes.'' He looked up with a little smile on his lips as she went a little red from her question.  
''Oh! That was a bit stupid of me to ask, I just thought that since you-''

''No need to explain, I was surprised to figure it out myself.'' Yami remarked calmly, enjoying her hyper chatter.  
''It was a good idea to invite me here today, the place feels a little like home.'' He looked around, trying to look at everything at once.  
Tea laughed, feeling his concealed excitement.  
''I'm glad! I was actually going to invite you to go to a cafe or something but I thought that this would be more... uhm... you.'' She finished, going a little red as Yami looked at her questioningly.  
''Thank you.'' He said simply as he walked on, wondering why it was such a big thing for her to invite him out anywhere. They were freinds after all.  
''Uh... no problem, Pharoah!'' Tea, going spectacularly red, changed the subject by running off to look at a 'cute' carving displayed on the far wall of two children.  
Yami gave a little smile as he watched her run off. He never tired of her odd behaviour.

***

"Tomb Robbers, hm?", Odion asked calmly, going through the various bits of the exhibition in his mind. "I think I may have some pieces that may be interesting to you, miss.", he finally stated calmly. "Follow me." And so he started leading the way, giving her a brief history of what he knew about tomb robbers generally before he reached the room he had had in mind. Calmly and slowly enough for Roe to write everything down, he explained some of the ancient carvings and texts to her, depicting the old stories of famous tomb robbers, some of which had succeeded in their quest and some who had received horrible punshments for their crimes.

After a good half an hour of talking however he became silent, looking at Roe curiously.  
"I hope you found this useful, miss. I apologize if I could not be of more help. I specialize in guarding tombs instead of robbing them Im afraid.", he told her with a small smile. No matter how creepy he looked, he always seemed friendly and approachful.

Eventually Yumi managed to find her friend and stood by her side, trying not to show in any way how shaken up she was.  
"Did you enjoy your stroll?", Odion asked her with a smile. "Seen anything you like?"  
Yumi had to fight the sudden knot in her throat at that question. She had certainly seen something she didnt like."It is a ery fascinating exhibit. Unfortunately I am not much of a history expert." With that answer she turned to Roe, amazed at the amounts of notes her friend seemed to have taken.  
"I see you are doing quite well. And the sparkle in your eyes shows how much you are enjoying yourself. I should stick around you, it seems that's where all the fun is."  
And that way she could maybe avoid running into Yami and Tea again as well.

''I hate to history-nerd out on you, but this stuff is amazing.'' Roe had indeed been frantically scribbling down notes in between listening in interest for the last while, and now grabbed her freinds shoulders to emphazise her point.  
''AMAZING. There's all theese facts that the history books never even-ooh, Tomb Keepers?'' She asked in interest, her eyes lighting up, what Odion had said sinking in.

''We were actually talking about that yesterday!'' Roe gestured to Yumi and herself.  
''But I did'nt think there'd be anything modern on them- not like there's any tombs left to gaurd, you know?''  
She looked at Yumi and her laugh died in her throat. Her freind looked even sadder than before and it all became clear when a certain spikey-haired boy walked past their corridor with a chirpy brunnette, chatting excitedly.  
Roe knew who it was at once- if the hair didn't give it away, the word 'freindship' that echoed down the corridor sure did.


	4. Broken strings A yugioh fic Chapter 4

_This is what happens when we stay up late on msn chatting about pirates and beach holidays :P_

**Chapter 4**

For a moment silence fell between the three people and Yumi looked down. The Pharaoh was so busy listening to Tea that he didnt even acknowledge her presence. The seconds seemed to tick by like hours, but eventually Odion broke the uncomfortable silence.  
"There still are Tomb Keepers, I assure you.", he said to Roe. "Historians may think they know everything, but some secrets are well kept. As far as I recall you came to seek knowledge about robbers though, not keepers."  
He'd prefer not to be questioned too much about his life and duties. There were too many dark stories to tell and too many secrets to guard. It would be close to impossible to explain it all to an outsider.

His hopes were however shattered when Yumi asked: "You should tell my friend a bit about it. With such information she'd get a top grade for sure..."  
Odion stared down at the young girl and couldnt help but feel pity as he saw her eyes brimming with tears over something he didnt understand.  
Yumi seemed to notice it as well and quickly dried her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Im sorry, there was something in my eye. Come on, Roe, we gotta continue your quest for amazing information."

Roe held up a hand. ''One minute, the quest can wait.'' She looked up at Odion for a second then decided she didn't care if he heard or not and turned back to Yumi.

She glanced back from the teary Yumi to where Yami and Tracey-or whatever the annoying chick's name had walked by- and her eyes narrowed.  
It was a pretty easy sum to figure out.

For a few seconds, Roe looked like she was ready to find the two and give them a peice of her mind but instead she squeezed her freinds hand and gave her an understanding look- she knew Yumi would'nt like it if she made a scene, as much as she wanted to on behalf of her freind.  
They would talk later.

''I'll be five minutes.'' She promised her freind, going back to the facade, not wanting to probe further when Odion was around.  
''Well the Keepers and the Robbers are linked, aren't they?'' She asked distractedly, turning back to Odion, her mind on the new drama, swirling in anger.  
''Cant have one without the other- it'd make an interesting section: the battle for passageway to the tomb!''

Yumi just shook her head, indicating that Roe could take as much time as she wouldnt burst out crying again. Just because the tears had almost overflown once didnt mean it would happen again. She would bit her lip and just deal with it. Perhaps there was nothing to be so sad about. There might just have been a good explanation for why Yami was there with Tea.

Odion looked at the two girls and let out a sigh. "Im afraid I am not the best person to ask on this. But come back tomorrow and I shall present you with someone who can give you the answers too all the questions you shall seek.", he promised. He was sure that Ishizu would know far better on how to handle this than him. She was the one who knew how to elude reporters who asked too many questions, so she would probably be able to deal with some school kids as well.  
"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?", he inquired.  
"Dont feel in a rush because of me.", Yumi added. They had come for Roe's project so it was what mattered. And even if she did forget some things they could come back again the next day and perhaps that time round Yami and Tea wouldnt be there.

Roe looked around, satisfied when she heard Tea's happy chatter for a distant exhibit and turned back quickly.  
''No, thanks. You were a great help, sorry for wasting your time!'' She said hurridly with a big smile before turning to Yumi, anxious to get her freind out of there.  
''I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks again!''

***

She lead Yumi out of the main exhibit as quick as she could, sneaking an interested look before her as she did so.  
Instead of following the signs to the exit she followed the sounds of Traceys/ Tea's/ whatever's voice untill they stood outside the exhibit her voice, and occaisionally Yami's deep baritone- echoed from.

''Stay here.'' She said in a whisper to Yumi before stepping into the room with the innocent look of a history nerd unaware her classmates were in the same room.  
''Oh, hi!'' She faked brightly, walking over quickly to them once she 'pretended' to notice them.  
''Enjoying the exhibit??''

Tea was blissfully unaware of any irony and noded brightly. ''It's so interesting!'' She enthused happily. ''I cant understand a word of it but I'd love to learn and the pharoah suggested that he'd teach me-''

''Did he?'' Roe feigned interest and looked at Yami, who stared back confidently.  
''Of course, anything to help a freind.'' He replied calmly, ignoring her pointed look.  
''Well good luck with that.'' Roe said cheerfully, studying his face to see if there was any idea as to why she was here in his eyes.  
Nothing.

''Actually, I'm supprised to see you out, Elie said you had to work most of the time. Bet thats a pain in the ass.'' She added brightly, trying not to seem to obvious in her guise to find out what was going on.

It was obvious that Yumi thought they were cheating or something,and she needed to find out.

''It's my fault, I dragged him out to see the museum! I thought it would be fun to learn about-'' Tea was interrupted by Roe's phone ringing from her pocket.

''Oh, sorry- see you two later!'' Roe held up the phone and escaped. As soon as she was outside she switched off of the ringtone which she had set off herself so she wouldnt have to listen to Tea and turned to Yumi.

''You hear that? She dragged him there! He's not on a date or anything, they're just being freinds!'' She exclaimed triumpantly as they left the building, unaware that Yami had blown off an opportunity to hang out with her freind for Tea.

Yumi had wanted to stop Roe when she had suddenly run off. In her mind she was sure that her friend was about to give Yami a lecture or something, so she was more than relieved when her friend returned with the rather calming message.  
"Thank you, but you didnt have to do this for me.", Yumi said. No matter how relieved she was, she didnt think it was fair to drag Roe into it like this. Then again, her friend had acted on her own without even so much as Yumi's permission.  
"Let's just go. I still have some time left before I need to go to my evening piano lessons. We can so something else till then."  
Even though the problem with Yami seemed to have been solved, a strange feeling in her gut remained and by doing something distracting Yumi hoped to get rid of it.  
Together the two girls left the museum and started heading towards the city centre. For a while they just chatted about nonsense or the newest movies out in cinema, but suddenly Yumi returned to the old topic. "What did he say?", she suddenly blurted out. "I mean, did he look sorry or anything? Did he ask about me?"

Roe had thinking about their curious guide in the museum, but snapped back to attention.  
''No.'' She said as gently as possible. ''He didn't say anything. He looked like a normal guy out in a musuem with a freind.''

She chewed her lip in silence for a few minutes and continued walking down the street, avoiding some skateboarders trying to jump off of a rail without killing themselves.  
''Look, I'm trying to think of reasons for him not being an ass but right now I cant think of any. Are you sure he even think you're going out? '' She added tenitavly.  
As Yumi walked her eyes were fixed on the ground and luckily enough people kept avoiding her so she didnt run into anyone.  
"I dont know...actually, Im starting to wonder myself whether we are going out or not...It seems as if one day we are and the next we arent anymore."  
The confusion was thick in her voice and so was her despair. The thing was, Yami wasnt Yumi's first boyfriend, so she wasnt exactly inexperienced about these things, but the king of games was certainly the first to leave her this uncertain about things.  
"I would talk it out with him, but we hardly ever see each other these days without his friends around." Especially one friend, she noted to herself. And that thought just reinforced her idea that it was time for some shopping to get rid of the heavy feeling in her chest.

''You need to talk to him, and on his own.'' Roe advised logically, longingly eyeing the newest rendition of the Final Fantasy games, displayed in a shop window.  
''Otherwise you dump him, or stop talking to him.''  
She had had one too many experiences with annoying guys to be sympathetic towards Yami right now.  
''Either he doesnt know how to treat a girlfreind or he's going through a rough time- he is dead after all, thats gotta be prety rough, or he's just an arsehole.''  
She shrugged and pointed at a shop up ahead.  
''If you think about it too much you'll just worry yourself sick. Try to relax for a few hours.''

***

Meanwhile in the museum Tea and Yami were still walking around until they happened to bump into Odion, who was talking to Ishizu about Roe's project. The two tomb keepers however stopped when the couple approached.  
"Ah, welcome, my King. I had guessed that this exhibit would interest you.", Ishizu greeted him with a bow. Even though this time round there were no breathtaking things she had to show him, it would nonetheless be good for the Pharaoh to see some of the things from his time.  
"Odion has just been telling me that one of your classmates is doing a project on Ancient Egypt. I am surprised you are not visiting the exhibit together.", she pointed out, but Odion spoke up.  
"She was here with another girl. Short brown hair and a very sad look in her eyes."

Tea sent a confused look at Yami. "If it's Roe they are talking about, then we ran into her, but she was alone, wasnt she?"  
Yami shook his head.  
''Eivdently not.'' He pondered for a second.  
''Yumi.'' He said aloud with a slight nod of affirmation. She was the only one of Roe's freinds that he knew who had short brown hair and from what he knew, he always wore her heart on her sleeve.  
A slightly heavy, worried look crossed his azure eyes for a second but was gone just as fast.  
''She must have come here to help me.'' He said quietly, his tone softening the tiniest bit.

Ishizu noted the dissonance that flashed across Tea's face as the pharoah's words with a raised eyebrow. The girl had tried to look nonchalant but there was a pained look in her eyes when this Yumi girl was mentioned.  
''She knows about your past then?'' The egyptian woman noted in interest.  
''I did not think many people knew pharaoh. At the risk of being patronising, I suggest not telling many of your freinds.''

The pharoah met her gaze with a certain,deadpan look with such conviction it almost made her falter.  
''I dont.''

Odion didnt know how to react to such things.  
"All I can say is that they arrived together and that this other girl then marched off to look at the exhibit alone. When she returned she looked horribly upset and the two left." He didnt know if that would be of any help to the Pharaoh, but the tomb keeper thought it was best to say everything he had witnessed.

"I dont get it.", Tea suddenly said. "If Roe had seen us and Yumi was with her, why didnt she show herself. i mean, I dont know that girl so well, but it's just polite to at least say hi or something."  
She was acting as if Yumi was at fault there, but at the same time she did so as innocently as possible. "If she had wanted to see you she would have shown herself surely."

''Or perhaps.'' The pharoah added in his usual baritone. ''She didn't want to interrupt.'' He looked at Tea, raising his left eyebrow a little.  
''Yumi has a perfectly good reason to be upset. I declined her offer to go out today because I had to help at the shop. Now she see's me out with you, and its likely that she think's I'm ..'cheating'.''

As usual his logic was flawless and delivered in a thoughtful calculated tone.  
''Other girls might have barged in, but not Yumi. That would explain why Roe came in.''  
He had heard Roe refer to Tea as a ''ridiculously impish twat'' after home ec the other day so it had puzzled him as to why she had suddenly been so freindly to the girl.

Ishizu nodded. ''You're right, my pharoah, and as observant as ever.'' If he didn't know Ishizu better he would have sworn that she had a tiny smile on her lips.

He nodded back, mirroring the ghost of a smile.  
''Thank you Izhizu. Odion. It's been good talking to you both. I'll see you later.'' He turned to Tea quickly.  
''I need to speak to Yumi, apparently there is a misunderstanding. Will you come with me?''


	5. Broken Strings a Yugioh fic Chapter 5

"Yes, I know. And Im not going to defend him now, but neither will I throw any accusations. I need to hear his side first.", Yumi agreed, suddenly stopping. "Hey, why dont we go back to that computer store and check out their new games? It's always fun to play them for free for a while.", she suggested and before Roe could even answer she grabbed her friend's hand and startd to drag her back towards the computer game shop

***

Tea didnt like where this was going, but she tried not to show.  
"Do you really think its such a good idea?", she asked, trying to work with logic. It always worked on him after all. "I mean, I doubt she would want to see you right now if what you say is correct. You should give her a few hours to calm down and maybe call her later."  
She didnt want their day out to end just because he felt that he had to explain himself to Yumi.  
"Besides, we told Roe what's going on, so Im sure she in turn told Yumi about it. There is no need to worry. And you promised me you'd help me find a few new cards for my deck, remember? You cant refuse a friend!"  
In the end she didnt only play on logic, but also his loyalty to his friends. It was bound to work.

Yami paused, thinking it over, then nodded.  
''You're right.'' He said reluctantly at last. Tea's logic was flawless, but it didn't mean he felt it was necessarily the right thing to do.  
But after all, a promise was a promise.  
''Perhaps I shall talk to her later. I assume you know more about women's minds than I do.'' He said with a half-smile.  
''Very well, lets see to your deck.'' With that, he abandonded the idea of going after Yumi and walked away with Tea, already prepared to discuss the game and different monsters in full swing.

Quite pleased with the result of her words, Tea smiled happily again.  
"Exactly! Trust me, calling her later is the right thing to do!" As they left the museum Odion and Ishizu looked after them.  
"Even without my millenium necklace I can foresee trouble.", Ishizu pointed out and Odion just nodded. "Now, back to this girl who wished to know about us. I think we will have to alter the reality a bit for when she returns with questions tomorrow."

* * *

. Although not a fan of technology, Yumi enjoyed the games as any other teenager and so they ended up playing some new rally game as well as mario until the guy in the shop kicked them out for not buying anything, yet hogging that game stations for eternity. Not that it seemed to bother the girls and Yumi even laughed as they left the shop, now obviously relaxed again.  
"Now that was fun. And much cheaper than the arcade. What next? Im totally hyped up now."

Roe was imitating the shop attendant.  
''What a twat, you just know thats all he does when no-one else is in the shop.'' She giggled, pulling her freind into the nearest Vanity Fair shop to try on the absurd posh hats and very odd glasses that were 'in fashion at the time'  
After parading around in a feathered hats and massive lepoard print glasses, the shop attendants dirty looks got too much so once again the had to leave.  
Stopping to get ice-cream, Roe paused thoughfully as she fished around in her purse.  
''That museum guy..'' She said, wrinkling her nose in uncertainty.  
''He was a bit odd, you know? Not the ponytail or the tatoos or anything, but he said his subject of expertise was Tomb keeps, right?''  
''Strawberry, please.'' She added to the stall worker, pointing to the flavour.  
''And then when I ask him about it, he doesn't tell us anything! What was that about?'' She turned back to Yumi, taking the ice-cream and raising her eyebrows. 

Yumi was enjoying herself immensly. Without spending a penny the two of them were having a blast of a time. Aftr being kicked out successively twice the idea to get some ice cream was more than welcomed.  
"Chocolate for me please.", Yumi ordered and then returned her attention to what her friend was saying.  
"The thing that I found odd was that he didnt seem menacing at all, despite his crazy looks.", she pointed out and then mused over Roe's words, leaning her head against her arm.  
"Well, if he really is a tomb keeper, I doubt he would have told you all the secrets of the trade. I am by no means as well versed in history as you are, but I can imagine that they are like a private club. No outsiders allowed."  
She paused again as the waiter brought their orders and already paid the bill.  
"But I know how stubborn you are, so try to probe him for answers tomorrow. It would be nice to know whose tomb he is or was guarding." 

Roe laughed, choking on her icecream. ''You think he's a tombkeeper?!'' She exclaimed with wide eyes.  
''I didn't even think of that!'' She admitted with an eye-roll at her own niavety.  
''That would explain his reluctance to talk about it, but what kind of tombs need gaurding? Surely they're safe or uncovered after all theese years, right?''  
She chomped on her icecream thoughtfully, linking arms with Yumi. ''But you're right, I'll try find out more from the oddly gentle yet badass museum guy.''

''....I should probably find out his name too. 'Museum guy' just doesn't cut it.''

***

Sure enough, the next day Roe was at the museum by midday, having cunningly escaped her parents pleas for her to go to a shrine with them by pretending to be ill.

Odion was prepared for Roe's visit, having talked out with Ishizu what should be mentioned and what needed to remain a secret.  
When Roe arrived he was still busy explaining some ancient scrolls to an elderly tourist group, but with a hand gesture he told her to wait. About twenty minutes later the bunch of old people retreated to the cafeteria for some snacks and the tombkeeper approached Roe, bowing his head in greeting.  
"I apologize for the wait. Our exhibit is well visited today. But let us go somewhere quiet so I may answer your questions."  
He led her through the various corridors and rooms until they reached what looked like a little office, furnished with two tables and several chairs.  
"Please, sit down. I am here to help.", he told her, taking a seat across from where she was standing. 

Roe looked around and sat, setting her bag on her knee.  
As nice as the guy looked, she was not comfortable with sitting in a secluded room with a guy she didn't know, and the body spray in her bag could double as mace if needed.  
''Okay, thank you very much again, but before I start I was wondering..'' She began curiously, taking out her notepad. ''..you said yesterday that this was your area of expertise. Did you study this in college or are you an archeologist or something?''

She looked up, pencil poised. ''Its just that I need to know how accurate the scource of information is, otherwise I'll loose marks.'' She explained a little apologetically, trying to ignore Yumi's tombkeeper idea in the back of her head.

Odion was quiet for a moment, but eventually let out a sigh. "I shall be as honest with you as I can, miss.", he said. "Fact is, that i come from a line of tomb keepers, whether you may believe it or not.", he eventually revealed, looking completely serious about it. He wouldnt be offended if she didnt take his words seriously. She was a normal modern girl and for her ancient tombs and prophecies were probably all part of movies and books only.  
"However, before you continue asking, I must warn you that some things I might not be able to tell you, as they are sworn to secrecy. I will however be as helpful as I can."  
It was nice to see people interested in the past after all and he could see that Roe was positively excited about this and not just some kid who was forced to get some research done. This fact made him relax a little, even if on the outside he looked as stern and stiff as always.  
"May I ask why you picked this subject though?", he suddenly asked curiously, almost as if striking up a conversation with her.

***  
The pharoah also was sitting in front of the phone, about call Yumi and ask to meet her. Tea hadn't left til late last night and he didn't want to ring too late. If Yumi had been a little upset, a phone call at midnight was hardly going to help matters.  
He had just picked it up when it started to ring. It was Tea.

''Hey, pharaoh!!'' Her cheery voice rattled down the line.

''Hello Tea.'' He replied with a smile.

''I just called to ask, you wanna come out later? I was thinking we could do to the arcade- they have this great new DDR set.... or we could do something else, invite the guys out too.'' She added hastily, unnerved by the silence on the end of the line.

''Sorry Tea, I've other plans.'' He said a little apologetically, looking at the ghostly image of Yugi beside him, who was trying to look at himself in the mirror and pouting when he found out he was seethrough.  
''I'm going to call Yumi and ask her to come over. It would be better if I explained it myself.''

Tea was panicking slightly on the other side of the phone. He sounded convinced to go and call Yumi instead.  
"Did she call you last night?", she suddenly blurted out. "If she didnt, it means she is most likely still angry. Believe me, every girl would call the guy after a few hours to see how things are. If she hasnt, then she is still in no mood to talk.", she tried to explain. "Besides, we'll only be out for a few hours. There will be plenty of time to call her."

The pharoah, although a confident person, hadn't really been interested in girls for the first few months that he was in this world- sharing a body and having no memories was hard enough without dating too- but now that he was, he relieid on Tea for her insight into women.  
After all, she'd never lead him wrong, they were too close for that.  
''Nevertheless, even if she is angry at me I should explain it to her.'' He replied doubtfully, his strong sense of right and wrong kicking in.

''Yumi's always been very emotional, I don't want her to be upset, she might overanylize it.''  
He actually found the sensitive side of her very endearing, but didn't say it.

''Tea might have a point, you can always pop in to see Yumi on the way home when she's calmed down?'' Yugi suggested, sitting beside the pharoah now, looking very transparent.  
Yami gave him a long look, covering the reciever with a hand.

''I know what you're doing, Yugi.''

''...you do?''

''You want to spend time with Tea.'' His yami gave him a knowing smirk and even in his spirit form Yugi went red.  
''N-noo, I mean, well, that is to say I- never meant , she might still be...Tea's got a point.'' He eventually mumbled, ghostly cheeks blazing.

Yami smiled at him and turned back to the reciever. If Yugi wanted to spend time with Tea then he could always call Yumi on the way home when she'd have time to calm down.

''Okay, you're right, I'll see you soon at your house.'' He said finally into the reciever after sending a quick grin a Yugi, who tried to throw a pillow at his other half, but went right through the object, cursing.  
''Thanks for the advice Tea.''  
Twenty minutes later he was sitting on the wall outside Tea's house, seated beside Yugi, who had control of the body for now.

**

Yumi had spent a brilliant day with her friend and then had gone to her evening piano class. By the time she had returned it had been late and she had fallen asleep looking at her phone, hoping for it to ring. The next day she woke up with the determination not to be sad. It was a day off and she knew that Roe went to the museum. With nothing to do she went to the library in her house which also contained a piano. Although she had decided to be happy that day and not worry about things, she ended up playing songs full of sadness and longing without even noticing.

After playing the piano for about an hour, Yumi decided to go to the cafe she would be workin in to get the new uniform they had promised to hand out beforehand. It was something that she was looking forward to and that brought a smile to her face. So she gathered her brown coat and hat as well as her black bag and headed out of the house and down the street. On her way she passed the Game store and stopped for a moment, hesitating. In the end she entered, looking around, hoping to find Yami, but it was his grandpa who greeted her.  
"Hello there. Can I help you?"  
"Hi. I was looking for your grandson.", she explained with a smile.  
"Oh, you missed him. He left to Tea's place not too long ago. Im sure you can find him there."  
A flash of sadness passed through Yumi's eyes, but she still smiled.  
"That's too bad. I'll see him later then maybe. Thank you." And with those words she left towards the cafe again, her mood not as great as before. 

***

"Yugi!", Tea called happily as she rushed out of the house, wearin her usual short clothes and high heeled shoes. "Im so glad that you came. Im sure today will be an awesome day!", she announced full of confidence and energy. "The guys said we could meet them at burger world later, so we have about two hours to just hang out together." She smiled even more as she added: "I say we go to the arcade. Some games will be fun and I challenge the Pharaoh to a car race. That will definitely take his mind off other things."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Roe's eyes widened in disbeleif and she took a second to digest the information.  
''...thats amazing.'' She said in awe. ''Yumi- my freind- actually thought so but I didn't think there were any tombs left to gaurd!''  
If he wasn't displaying an exhibit in a museum and looking so serious she wouldn't have beleived him so readily.  
''I dont know.'' She said honestly, looking at him and trying to figure out why he looked so farmiliar. There was something about his face that looked vaugly farmiliar... but she didn't think she had ever met him before in her life.

''I just love egyptian history, and what better way to learn about it than choose it for a research project??'' She grinned happily.  
''This is amazing, I didn't think the ancestors of tomb keepers even existed any more!''  
''Okay, question one- what pharoah was your family gaurding?'' It wasa pretty general question and she looked up eagerly.  
"I am glad. We do not get many young people coming to visit the exhibit voluntarily.", Odion said with a smile. Even Marik wasnt too keen on staying. He always prefered to roam the city for some duels or just drive around on his motorcycle.  
"The name of the Pharaoh cannot be revealed. But he was a mighty King, who saved the world more than 5000 years ago."  
He didnt know how close this girl was to the Pharaoh and whether she'd catch on, but he simply couldnt tell her more. Mostly because none of the Ishtars actually knew the King's real name.  
"But I assure you, we are not the only family guarding tombs. Even those who have already been discovered and are open to the public are still guarded by a family who makes sure that they are treated the proper way." He paused for a moment to allow her to write everything down.  
"In the past we protected the tombs from robbers. These days nosey archeologists and collectioners are the dangers."

Roe jotted it down and looked up at Odion rather sharply, relaisation dawning in her blue eyes. ''Holy shit.'' She whispered.  
As far as she knew, there might have been a few unnamed pharaohs floating around, but she didn't think too many of them had done something as specific as saved the world excactly 5000 years ago.  
''.em....okay.'' She quickly took it down, realising how bonkers it would sound if she yelled _''I KNOW THAT DEAD GUY!'_  
Making a mental note to show Yumi later, she proceeded with the interview as best she could, her head spinning with the news.

Odion seemed to be able to read her expression and became quiet for a moment.  
"You look shocked.", he pointed out with a small smile. Of course, most people would be upon hearing this information. It wasnt everyday that a real tomb keeper appeared after all, but Odion could see far more than simple astonishment in the girl's eyes. It was as if a shimmer of realization had flickered through them.  
"Does this remind you of something or someone?"  
By then he knew that Roe was evidently going to the same school and even class as the Pharaoh, but this was his chance to discover how close they really were. That relation would establish how much he could actually tell her without involving an outsider.

''Yeah.'' Roe said immeadiatly with a slow nod, keeping eye contact with Odion as she tried to see how much he knew or what she should tell him.  
Saying that her freind was dating a dead guy from 5000 years ago who lived in someone elses body was enough to have her locked away in an institute forever.  
''There's a guy at school who's into all that kind of stuff.'' She shrugged, phrasing her words carefully.  
''Actually he was here yesterday. Lots of leather and spikey hair. He's dating my freind and I heard something about him being the ghost of a pharoah who died saving the world... ect ect. Crazy, I know.'' She laughed a little nervously, looking up at Odion.  
''I just thought of it, cause it does sound very similiar.''

Odion was studying Roe as carefully as she was obviously studying him. It was as if neither knew how to approach the other. Her words however were enough for Odion to see that this girl was no stranger to many of the things which were supposed to be secrets.  
"So you know the Pharaoh.", he concluded. "And I guess the girl who was with you is that friend of yours."  
It didnt take a genius to put all the facts together and now the tomb keeper understood why Ishizu had foreseen trouble. This however wasnt his business and he focused once more on tha task at hand.  
"I guess we can talk a little more openly now.", he spoke with a small smile. "Now you know whos tomb the Ishtar family is guarding and I am sure you will guess that there is far more at stake here than just an old building and treasures.''

Roe looked aghast and excitied all at once.  
''Seriously!? Thats the pharoahs tomb you're gaurding!?!?'' She asked eagerly, sitting foreward.  
''No shit thats scarily coincidental! So.. wait... you said 'gaurding'.'' She looked a little confused. ''I thought you descended from tombkeepers, I didn't think you were one!''  
She looked at him in a mixture of awe and bewilderment.  
''If you know he's still here, why gaurd his tomb?''

"You can never escape the legacy of your ancestors.", Odion said with a smile. "I am proud to be a tomb keeper.", he added and the pride was thick in his voice indeed. He had gone through a lot to achieve this, so it meant far more to him than an inherited title.  
"And the Pharaoh's spirit may be here, but we are still to guard the treasures within his tomb."  
Of course he didnt mention the secrets which lay within as well. Ishizu had strictly forbidden to let anyone know about them. Even if Roe was a friend, it was too easy to extract information from people. There were enough people after the millenium items already, they needn't know about the other secrets as well.

''Makes sense..'' Roe jotted it all down. Not that she could use this for her project, but it would be fun to sleuth about later.  
She continued with the interview for another half an hour, asking everything she thought of.  
Sometimes her questions were met with a polite; ''I cannot say.'' but other times she felt like freaking out happily like a two year old from all the information she was getting.  
Tomb keepers were scarily amazing.  
''Okay, one last question.'' She said eventually, looking up with a grin.  
''What devotion makes the tomb keepers gaurd tombs? Surely one of you would want to go off and do something else with your life, especially the younger generations..''  
Oddly enough, Odion found himself enjoying the interview quite a lot. It was nice to share his passion and knowledge about the ancient tombs and rituals with her. At her last question however he fell silent for a while.  
"I guess it's a sense of pride in what we are doing that eventually makes us return to our task. Not every family can say that its their destiny to guard 5000 year old treasures and secrets after all.", he finally answered as best as he could without revealing anything about Marik. "I mean, wouldnt you return to it?", he finished, eyeing her curiously.  
Roe was obviously a fan of history, so perhaps the question wouldnt give him a shocking answer.  
Roe shook her head vehemently.  
''I dont think so.'' She said firmly.  
''I'd want to go see the world, travel, go to college, fall in love, get a job.. I couldn't just gaurd a tomb knowing I was missing out on so much.'' She looked up quickly with an apologetic expression.  
''No offence, I know its really important to those who are dedicated, but personally I dont think I could.''  
She stood, picking up her jacket and packing away her notes. ''Thank you so much, you've been a great help, ...''  
She paused and laughed. ''...I dont know your name.''

*******

''Sounds great, Tea!!!'' Yugi declared happily, jumping off the wall and smiling up at his freind.  
He ignored the ghostly image of the pharoah who was standing beside him smirking knowingly and broke into a conversation as they set off.  
Now and again he'd stop and let Yami take over the conversation for a while, noting a little jealously that Tea was a little different when the pharoah was around- the kind of 'different' he had always wanted her to act around him instead.  
Tea was indeed different around Yami. She blushed a lot more and seemed much sweeter. Yugi was a great friend, but that was just it; a friend. They reached the arcade where they spent at least an hour playing various games.  
"This is great! I could do this all day!", the girl announced as she noticed that it was about time to go and meet Joey and the others in burger world.

Outside, Yumi was just passing the arcade on her way back from the cafe. In her hand was a bag containing her uniform, which she had tried on there. It was immensly cute with the short lolita dress and the maid-like headdress and she was looking forward to wearing it starting the folllowing week.

''It is fun.'' Yami agreed with a grin as they left the arcade. He had taken over when Yugi had gotten a little quieter than usual and receeded into his soul room after a while.  
''Thanks for inviting me ou-'' He stopped and looked around curiously.

Tea was standing still, staring with a strange expression across the street.  
''Yumi!'' Yami exclaimed, going to wave but Tea stopped him.  
''I'm pretty sure she looked this way.'' The girl said quickly. ''Its not a good idea to act too freindly if she's still mad. She'll think you're being brazen about it. Act nonchalant and see if she reacts.''

Yumi had just been walking quietly, glancing at her bag from time to time. She had to stop at a red traffic light as she was about to cross the road and in this moment she looked up. On the other side of the road were Yami and Tea! For a second she just stared, unsure what to do. Yami didnt even seem to intend to make a move towards her and the girl next to him started to tell him some things, always glancing at Yumi.  
Slowly Yumi took a step back. It was like a slap in the face seeing them like this. First he told her he'd be busy in the game shop for a few days and now she was seeing him with Tea for the second time. And he hadnt even called her once!  
She took another step backwards and then suddenly spun around and started running in a completely different direction. She didnt care that it wasnt the way home. Any route to get her away from the couple seemed fine in this moment.

"Told ya she's still mad. That was a little overreacting though.", Tea said, shrugging her shoulders. "Seriously, this girl is troublesome. Believe me."

Yami was supprised at his own reaction more than Yumi's.  
He didn't like the guilt that was creeping over his chest, even though he hadn't technically done anything wrong.... right?  
''I have to talk to her.'' He said quickly, taking off without another word on explanation to Tea and running full tilt across the street, dodging cars and heading after Yumi.  
It was a few minutes before he caught sight of her again on a parrallell street close to the park.  
''Yumi!'' He called out breathlessly, not understanding the urge he had to comfort her.  
''Wait!''  
Hearing his voice only made Yumi run faster, but the sprint wore her out and at the next corner she had to stop, her breath completely ragged. She leaned against the nearest wall and closed her eyes for a moment.  
Although it was a good sign that he had come after her instead of completely ignoring her presence, she didnt want him to see her now. She must have looked like a complete mess and she wouldnt know what to tell him in that moment.  
"Why did you come after me?", she managed to ask between her uneven breaths once he caught up. "Your companion will be sad that you deserted her like this."

''Tea will understand.'' Yami replied, though he wasn't entirely sure if she would.  
''You were upset, of course I had to come after you. I meant you ring you yesterday but I thought you might still be upset so I waited untill today.''  
He explained, trying to hide the arkward feeling creeping over him. He wasn't used to feeling like this.  
He reached a hand out as if to comfort her.  
''Are you okay? Why did you run?''

Yumi would have moved away, but her body forced her to stay where she was, at least until she had caught her breath again.  
"I was waiting for your call...", she said. She had been angry, yes, but more disappointed and confused. "I ran because....", she paused, not sure what to say. "Because I didnt know what else to do in this moment. I didnt want to think the worst.", she finally admitted, looking down. Yumi didnt look angry at all, despite what Tea had said, but she certainly wasnt happy about this. "I dont want to think you pushed me aside, so if I ran away and pretended not to have seen you with her, I could maybe fool myself into believing that you are indeed working at the game shop."

Yami's confused smile said more than he could. He stepped foreward, just obeying his natural instincts and cupping her face gently in his hands.  
''Why would you not want to see us together.'' He asked, his voice unusually gentle.  
''Tea is my freind. I was indeed working in the game shop the other day when Tea asked me to come to the museum. Yugi persuaded me to go, it was no slight on you.''  
He looked at her closely, his azure eyes flickering with uncertainty.  
He explained the entire thing from his side and when he was done he looked at her again.  
''I might have made a mitsake, but I trusted Tea's advice on how you would be reacted. Apparently she was wrong. I'm sorry.''

Yumi listened calmly to him, nodding a few times. She could see that he wasnt at fault and she had known from the start how close he was to his friends.  
"I didnt want to overreact, which is why I didnt approach you when I saw you two in the museum. And Roe assured me that it wasnt anything bad either, so I tried not to worry. But then you didnt even call me in the evening and I wasnt sure when you'd be back home, so I didnt want to interrupt you with my call...Today I went to the game shop to see how you were doing, thinking you'd be at work, but you Yugi's grandfather said you were at Tea's place...", she said, trying to explain things from her point of view. "Dont get me wrong. I dont want you to call me every hour of the day, telling me where you are going and who you are hanging out with, but..." She wasnt even looking it him, but held her gaze onto the ground. "We havent seen each other in more than two weeks now cause you were always either busy in the shop or hanging out with your friends. I just miss you I guess..."  
By that point she had calmed down already from the run and stopped leaning against the wall.  
"I am not angry, so I think you can go back to Tea. Call me when you have some time, ok?"

Yami inclined his head with a smile as he listened to her.  
''I'll be sure to make more time then.'' He promised with that same little smile.  
''And I'm sorry for any undue worry caused, it wasn't my intention.''  
He looked around in thought.  
''If you're not busy now, why dont you come along with me and Tea? We're going to meet Joey, Tristan and Duke at Burger king.'' He said with a hopeful smile.  
''That is, if you're not already busy.'' He added hastily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Now her answer did end up being a surprise after all. Then again, he didnt know the girl that well.  
"My name is Odion.", he said, nodding his head a little. "And may I know your name, Miss?", he inquired. It would only be fair to get to know her as well. 

"Also, the exhibition will still be here for another two weeks, so feel free to come around with more questions whenever it pleases you.", he added gently. "Ishizu will maybe find some time and let you know more than what I have told you already."  
Although he held quite a lot of information, the one with most facts was undeniably Ishizu herself. 

''Odion..'' Roe's eyes widened. ''Oh hey, you were in battle city!'' She said excitedly.  
''I knew I recognised you from somewhere!''  
She slung the bag unto her back.  
''I didn't actually watch the finals but I remember, you were on the news cause you got injured during the semi-finals!''  
There was a short silence as Roe wondered how somehow so devoted to history could also be a top duelist.  
''Guess you are living in two times after all'' She added with a grin. ''...eh.. I'm Roe, by the way.''

"Well, duel monsters is not as modern as you think it might be.", Odion told her with a somewhat mysterious smile. Although she was close to leaving, he was sure that this bit of information might make her drop her bag again. Not that he wanted to keep her there, but he was sure that this would tickle her curiosity.  
"Actually, it goes back many thousand years." It wasnt on the list of things Ishizu had told him not to mention, so he didnt feel guilty about this at all.  
Roe was at the door as he said it, and stopped abruptly.  
''Seriously?'' She turned around slowly, staring at Odion.

''How do you know all this? Is this something thats passed down too or is it just common sense?''

Roe stopped, chewing her lip. ''By the way, those other two- the blonde guy in the girly clothes and the woman who's on the brochure, are you all tombkeepers for the pharoah?''

"Yes, we are all members of the Ishtar family. Master Marik however is a little less interested in his duty as he should be as the heir.", Odion remarked with a sigh, rising slowly from his chair. "Come, allow me to show you some things.", he told her, leading her through various corridors again, but this time he took her to sections of the exhibit that he had not shown her the day before.  
He stopped in front of several smaller rocks with carvings on them.  
"I dont know how well you know the Duel Monsters game, but take a look at these figures.", he said, inviting her to lean closer to it.

''Buster Blader.'' Roe said immeadiatly, pointing at one carving after another. ''Dark Magician.... Harpie lady 3.. I dont know much about duelling but theese are pretty obvious renditions.''  
She looked up at Odion with raised eyebrows.  
''I'm impressed, but does'nt that prove that pegasus is a plagerising cheater?'' She asked with a little grin.

Odion nodded quietly at each correct guess she made. At her last comment he chuckled a little. "That would perhaps be one way of saying it. But he did far more than cheating.", he explained, leading her to another rock, depicting some old duels.  
"He didnt simply recreate the drawings, but he also awoke the tradition of dueling."  
He didnt mention magic yet as he was still walking on fragile grounds with Roe. The moment she would show how much she knew, he could judge how much more to add to it.

''They even had old duel disks...'' Roe said softly, wanting to reach out and touch the old stone, but keeping her arms by her sides.  
''This is amazing.'' She frowned a little.  
''But our monsters are holograms. So theese monsters were real? They look like they're coming out of stone slabs...'' She leaned foreward curiously.  
''I think I'd call bullshit on this one if it wasn't in an official museum.'' She smiled up at Odion.

"The ancient egyptians had their ways. Unfortunately we have no exact evidence to explain how they did it.", Odion said, keping half of the information out. Of course there was evidence, but it would never appear in an official exhibit.

''By the way, your relative. Why do you call him 'master?'' She added curiously as the thought struck her.

"Master Marik is the head of the family. I owe him my allegiance and loyalty.", he answered her question. "Does this strike you as odd? We still live according to the old ways, so hierarchy is still part of the family system."

Roe nodded. ''Yeah.'' She said bluntly. ''I do find it kinda odd.'' She gave a little amused impish grin.  
'' Each to their own, but ..you look older than him so I thought the oldest would be in charge, you know?''  
This Odion guy was more interesting than she first thought. There was some inane curiousity that made her want to know more about his weird, old way of life. 

"The oldest legitimate son is always the master.", Odion just said, but didnt expand on it. This was striking one of the more painful chords. Besides, the modern world knew well about illegitimate children, even though in a very different way. He didnt care in the end what Roe thought had happened. Fact was, he was not an Ishtar by blood.

"Do you wish to know anything else?", he asked, just to underline that he wouldnt say anything more on the other issue.

Roe nodded and changed the subject. It was obvious he wanted to leave it there.  
''Actually, I think thats all, I got a good notepad stuff of info.'' She grinned and tapped her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.  
''Thanks' so much for your time.'' She checked her phone for the time and grimaced. ''I've to go and make a start on my homework, but thanks for all your help.'' She turned to go  
''Good luck with the exhibit!!''

"Allow me to escort you to the exit.", Odion said, leading the way back through all the corridors until they reached the entrance. "It was a pleasure to help you, Miss Roe. Good luck with your presentation."  
Just then a tanned young man with wild blond hair and a short purple shirt ran up the stairs, a helmet under his arm.  
"Odion! You dont know what you are missing! Dont stay in the museum all day!", he called, just giving Roe a short nod.  
"Someone has to help our your sister, Master Marik.", Odion replied calmly.

Marik sighed exhasperatedly.  
''Odion, Ishizu can more than handle this. Its her job, remember!?'' He exclaimed, polishing his helmet absentmindedly with a hem of his shirt.  
''Come out and have some fun, Yugi and Joey will really want to see you again!'' He wheedled, remembering the deep respect the Joey and his brother had for each other even since the battle city semi finals.

"It would be an honor to meet them again.", Odion agreed. "But I shall see how busy the exhibit will be tomorrow."  
The two couldnt be any more different. Odion seemed to take his duties as tombkeeper far more serious than the head of the Ishtar family and the way he was speaking was far more polite as well.  
"This is Miss Roe, by the way, one of the Pharaoh's classmates. Im sure she knows Joey Wheeler as well."  
It was only then that Marik really turned to look at her.  
"Hey there. So you know Yugi and the others? Ive never seen you around them...then again, I havent been to Domino in quite a while."

***

"Yes, that would be nice...I will try to do the same, even though I have a part time job starting from monday.", Yumi said, finally looking at him again.  
"Sure, I can come along.", she accepted his offer, though the smile on her face was a little forced. Hanging out with Tea right then wasnt exactly what she had hoped for, but she hadnt seen Yami in so long that she thought it was best to accept.  
The mood was still awkward though as they walked down the street back to where Tea was. Yumi didnt know whether to look at him or not or whether to reach out for his hand. In the end she kept her eyes on the road, her hand holding her bag tightly.

Yami made as much conversation as he could as they walked along.  
He was just going to reach for her hand as they reached Tea, but something made him stop. Somehow he didn't think it would help the arkward mood if he did that now that Tea was here.  
''Hey Tea, thank's for waiting!'' He called, waving.  
Tea looked up from her perch on a wall and she looked dissapointed to see the two together for a second.  
''Hey Yami! Hey.. Yumi..'' She added, trying to keep up the big beam but it faltered somehow.  
''Are you coming?'' The pharoah asked her and they set off to burger world  
A while later they were all seated at the guys faveorite booth as Joey wolfed down a burger, ignoring both Tristan and Duke who were arguing feircly over his sister.  
''Do you want anything?'' Yami turned to ask Yumi with a smile. ''My treat.'' 

Yumi smiled as much as she could, but the tension between her and Tea was almost tangible in a way. Even though the guys all ignored it, the two girls were obviously not getting along. 

Tea-who had been unusually quiet- suddenly stood up abruptly, keeping her eyes on the ground. ''I have to go, guys.'' She said quickly and positivly fled, leaving a confused silence behind her.

When Yami offered to order her something, Yumi declined saying she had already eaten. And when Tea left moments later Yumi looked down as well.  
"Im sorry...I think I might have caused her to leave.", she apologized, leaving the guys even more confused.  
"What are you saying? She's probably just busy with some dancing classes.", Tristan waved it off.  
"Yeah, we all know she takes those lessons almost every evening. Also, what do I spy in that bag of yours. My expert eyes see a nice little maid outfit.", Duke asked, winking. "Who are you trying to seduce tonight?"  
"Nobody.", Yumi defended herself. "Its the uniform for the cafe I will be working in."

All three guys stared at Yumi, bug-eyed.  
''I...ata....maid.....uniform....guh.. I cant even- '' Joey took a huge gulp of his milkshake before staring wildly at Yumi. ''Theres a cafe where the chicks wear maid outfits!?!?!?!?!'' He demanded, turning and grabbing Yami by the lapels, shaking him like a madman.  
''WHY!''  
_*shake*_  
''DIDN'T''  
_*shake*_  
''YOU''  
_*shake*_  
''TELL''  
_*shake* _  
''US''  
_*shake shake*_  
''THIS!?!?!?!?!?''

Yami fought Joey off. ''I didn't know untill right now.'' He glanced after Tea uneasily. She had been acting weird lately.  
Duke however just pushed a pad of notebook paper over to Elie.  
''The address, please. My eye-candy senses are tingling.''

"Well, nobody knew about it, cause its about to open on Monday.", Yumi explained with a nervous laugh. Now she didnt mind extra customers, but having those guys over, and especially Duke, seemed fatal.  
"Grand Opening is at 5pm Monday. Cake is 25% off that day.", she explained, eventually scribbling down the address for Duke and pushing the paper towards him. "Just dont embarrass me please. Ive been looking for a part time job for too long to loose this one."  
She glanced at her watch and slowly got up, grabbing her bag.  
"I better start heading home. My parents will have a fit if Im not home practicing the piano by the time they get back from work."

''Forget the cake, are the girls 25% off too?'' Duke muttered to Joey, who snorted in laughter.  
Yami stood up too as the guys said their farewells to Yumi.  
''Can I walk with you?'' He asked Yumi, stoicly ignoring the grinning and nudgings of his freinds.

''Please dont mind Tea.'' He said as they walked out of Burger world.  
''It was nothing you did that made her leave, she's not usually that kind of person. Joey was right, it was probably just a dance lesson.''  
Yumi waved the guys goodbye and walked out with Yami. Although she was sure he was just calming her down, she played along.  
"That is good to know. I wouldnt want to scare your friends away.", she said as they walked down the streets. As they walked she didnt really know what to say.  
"Will you come on monday? I have made one of the cakes we are going to sell myself. I was thinking of keeping a piece for you...that is if you want."

''I wont miss it.'' Yami promised her with his customary ghost of a smile.  
''As far as I hear, whatever you make usually tastes nice anyways. Roe has sworn her life on it about five times by now.'' He chuckled.  
''I apologize in advance for Duke, I'll make sure he behaves himself.'' The pharoah didn't even bother to think at the chaos that man alone could cause.  
''You know how he is with girls in costumes.'' Yami rolled his eyes a little as they turned a corner on the street.

Yumi chuckled, looking happy for the first time this evening. "He will be sorely disappointed when he finds out that all of the girls working there already have boyfriends, who will all be there on the day.", she revealed. The poor dice boy would be crushed indeed.  
"You dont have to walk me all the way home. I know that its shorter for you to turn right there after all.", she said as thety kept walking along. She would of course love his company, but she didnt want him to go out of his way for her  
''That wont stop Duke from trying.'' Yami replied wryly.

''It's not the first time he's had to run from angry boyfreinds, and definatly not the last.''  
He paused, looking at the right turn then back at Yumi.  
''If you dont mind, I'd prefer to walk you all the way home.'' He said, looking up at her.  
''Only if you dont mind, of course.'' He added, so she wouldnt feel like she had to let him.

"I was secretly hoping you'd take me home.", Yumi revealed, this time reaching for his hand as they kept walking. She had missed him alright, but after the things that had happened she at first hadnt know how to act around him. Right now she was warming up again though and smiling a lot more.

''Women are always a mystery to me.'' Yami revealled, looking at her with quiet amusment in his eyes.  
''I could never understand why they say one thing, yet mean another like that.'' He chuckled. ''Your gender as almost better at mind games than me.''  
He paused as his phone beeped and checked the text.  
He was still trying to work the damn thing properly, seeing as Yugi usually did it, but he raised an eyebrow at the message.  
''Sorry 4 running off. Just needed some air. What r u doing 2morrow? Tea xoxoxoxo''  
He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"I might come over to the game shop tomorrow. It's my cousin's birthday and I was thinking of buying a starter deck for him or something." She added.  
''Come over, we've just got a new range of magician decks in.'' He invited Yumi. ''Although Yugi would know more about that than me.''  
The pharoah paused suddenly, hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He spun around, facing a street full of people passing by, chatting on the phone or cruising from shop to shop.  
But something felt like he was being watched.

"I guess most men think the same.", Yumi remarked with a laugh. "But honestly, you are a mystery to me as well. I feel that I know you, yet at the same time I know that there are many things I will probably never find out."  
As if catching herself ranting, she quickly shook her head and and smiled. "I dont know anything about the game, so I will be relying entirely on your and Yugi's judgement.", she said with a shrug as they turned into the street with all the fancy houses. Yumi's mother was in the estate business and her father had made it big a few years back as a composer. It was quite obvious that she had inherited her musical talent from the paternal side.

Yami shook the weird feeling off and smiled back at Yumi, not saying anything. There was a few things she could not know, that many people did'nt.  
''I shall try my best not to impede Yugi's superious judgement.'' He said with a grin as they reached her house.

''So I'll see you tomorrow.'' He hesitated for a moment, then leaned foreward and kissed her softly on the lips.  
This boyfreind stuff wasn't as hard as it looked.

Yumi smiled at the kiss, but when he pulled away she moved forward and kissed him properly with far more passion and determination than he had done. She wasnt as shy as many people believed she was.  
"That's how you do it. See you tomorrow then.", she said with a smile, before opening the gate to the front garden to her house and slipping away towards the door.


End file.
